To Find One's Self
by Twilight of Grace
Summary: [In a battle with the heart, a loss of self is sometimes assured] The ongoing story of Kingdom Hearts, as told through my eyes. First Person Story of Sora. Chap 8 posted [Twilight To Dawn]
1. End of the Old, and the Start of the New

NOTE: DO NOT, I repeat, DONOT expect this to be the exact same as the Kingdom Hearts game. I know that I may be slaughtered for it, but I alter some events of the original game, so that I can write this story the way I want. The basic premise of the game is there, and I don't alter much, but some is changed, especially in later chapters. I have up through chapter 9 written, it is just a matter of typing it out now. I will update as regularly as possible, but I can't promise it will be exact.

"...Kingdom Hearts, show these idealists...the true power of everlasting darkness!"

As Ansem lay there, battered and beaten, he rose to his knees, reaching for the large door that lay just in front of him.

"No Ansem, you're wrong," I rose to my feet, adrenaline making me do what my body could not have otherwise done. "I know now, without a doubt...Kingdom Hearts, is light!"

As if responding to my cry, the door burst open, a bright light emanating from within.

"Wha...ugh...ahh...," with one last breath, Ansem disappeared into the darkness.

"**He's not gone for good..."**

"I know," I responded to the voice only I could hear without thinking.

"What are you talking about Sora?" Donald threw me a questioning look, but I had already started running to the door.

"Hurry! We have to shut it!" As I reached the door, I called out for Donald and Goofy. They came following quickly behind, running to the second of the two massive doors. I was left to manage the one on my own. As we were straining to shut the doors, Goofy took a look inside.

"Garwsh!!" letting out his usual yelp of surprise, Goofy took a step back, staring at the contents that the door held within. After a slight pause, he grabbed Donald and me, and showed us what lie inside.

The Heartless were everywhere, numbers rendered immeasurable due to the sheer amount of them. Thousands of eyes were the only things you could see. I stared in wonderment and awe and the magnitude of the sight that lay before me. As I stared, all of the eyes focused toward me.

"AHH!" I collapsed to the ground, the feeling of one thousand needles piercing my heart. Millions of images flew before me, happy times, frightful ones, all the images of those whose hearts had been taken, now pored through my very essence. What were they trying to do? Kill me by overloading my mind? Or simply crying out for help? I could not worry about that now. I slowly rose back to my feet, going back to the door.

"We have to close this door now!" running back behind the door, I began to try to shut it again. I looked back at Donald and Goofy. They were beginning to get their door shut, but mine refused to move. The strain of the battle and the weight of the door were too much for me to bear. I ventured another peek inside. Darksides were beginning to emerge out of the mass of heartless, slow yet powerful these would mean the end of our journey if they reached us.

"Why won't this door move?!" I thought to myself. The adrenaline was starting to leave my body, and I was losing the strength to go on. As I fell to the floor in defeat, a voice spoke to me.

"Don't tell me you're giving up already Sora? I thought you were stronger than that?" I rose to my feet. Could it really be him? I had thought him lost to the darkness. I looked around the door to see if it was true. There he was, plain as day. Riku was now standing before me. "Come on, let's close this door," Riku grabbed onto the edge of the door and began to pull. I gave him one last look, and then went back to pushing. Finally our door began to move.

As the doors grew closer to being shut, a figure leapt out of the millions of Heartless. Due to the powerful light, I couldn't make out any facial features on him. He had large circular ears, and wore what appeared to be a pair of red overalls. The thing that caught my attention was that he was wielding a Key blade.

"Your majesty!" both Goofy and Donald cried out at the same time. I stared now in awe. So this was the famous King Mickey. This was my first time seeing him, and in this light he almost looked angelic.

"Let's seal this door for good Sora!" The king stared over at us.

"What about you?" I exclaimed. We'd searched for so long, why could he not just come with us?

"Do not worry; there will always be a door to the light." The king shifted his gaze from me to those of his servants. "Donald, Goofy, thank you..." As the mighty doors grew to a halt, the king threw his blade back in the air, and Riku told me one last thing.

"Take care of her..."

"I will," I whispered to myself as I nodded. I leapt backwards, raising my own Key blade to the sky. A light shot from the tip.

"**Do not worry, trust the King. What he said is true, there shall always be a door to the light."** My voice spoke top me once again. As it did so, the door to Kingdom Hearts vanished, revealing a crossroads behind it. The path veered of in numerous directions. I turned around as the sound of crunching sand caught my ears.

There she was. How she had gotten there I did not know, but I wasn't about to question it. She was the reason that my whole journey had begun. The one person I held above all others. Kairi.

As I ran to her, I noticed she was staring at her feet. Around her, a group of sand was forming. Something was puling her away again, but I wasn't going to lose her without letting her know I was there.

"Kairi!" I called out.

"Sora!" she answered back. Reaching her, I grabbed onto her hand.

"Kairi, don't forget me, I'll come back for you one day!"

"I know you will!" as she said this, the sands around her pulled her away, and all I could do was watch her be taken away again. Once again she was gone, but at least this time, I knew she was safe. I turned back to were the door to Kingdom Hearts once stood. As I walked back, I stared ahead to the crossroads."

"**The next step lies before you. Only you can choose which path you shall take down the crossroads. However, be brave and never forget: You are the one who will open the door."**


	2. The First Meeting

Note: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or any of the characters within this story. Unless of course I decide to make up one (which I don't foresee happening at the moment, but with how long I want this to be, who knows?) Just in case you don't catch on, each chapter will switch between the present (the time period of the story I am telling), and the past (memories of Sora and Kairi When they were both younger, this is not a flashback, merely an interlocking part of the story, if you want, read only the odd number chapters for the actual story). Okay, on with the show.

_You know, I've never really thought about life outside my village, _I thought to myself one day. _I've been fine living in town, rowing out to the children's island every day to hang out with Tidus, Wakka, Selphie, and Riku. _It had always been just the five of us, until that fateful night when Kairi was brought into our world.

Tidus was staying the night at Wakka's, and Selphie was home sick with the flu. Riku and I were bored, so we planned to sneak out that night. We met up at the dock where we left our boats, and headed over to the children's island. When we arrived, I noticed that the sky was unusually bright. Looking up, I saw that a meteor shower was starting.

"Hey Riku, was there supposed to be a meteor shower tonight?" I said as we hopped out of our boats.

"I didn't hear anything about it in town, maybe the astrologers just didn't know this one was coming," usually if something was going to happen, Riku knew about it. Since he had hit ten, he felt he had to know everything that was going to happen in or around town. He had been hanging around adults more, and he seemed to think this made him more mature.

As we tied up our boats, a loud crash came from the other side of the island. The resulting shockwave knocked me back into my boat.

"What was that!?!" I screamed in a daze.

"I don't know!" Riku exclaimed, doing all he could to keep his balance.

After the ground stopped shaking, I stood back up, grabbing a hold of Riku as I did. The whole world was still spinning. I shook my head to try to get rid of it, but it only got me more disoriented.

"What should we do, Riku?" I said, finally coming back to my senses.

"Let's go find out what just crashed," He said, an inquisitive look on his face.

"Are you sure? It could be dangerous..."

"That's what makes it all the more fun though. This could be the first exciting thing to happen here in a long time. This island is so boring, this might be fun," Riku then set off in the direction of the explosion. Still apprehensive, I set off after him once he'd gotten a few steps away. I may have been scared of what had happened, but I was more scarred of the thought of being alone right now.

We ran across the beach, under the bridge, and stopped in front of the small shack that separated the part of the island we were on from the side that the crash had come from. Riku motioned me to pull out my weapon. I pulled out a frail piece of wood that somehow made me feel stronger.

Slowly but surely, Riku opened the door to the other side of the island. He was looking through the crack, but since he was taller than me, I couldn't see anything.

"Come on, Riku. I can't see a thing," I was growing more afraid by the second, and knew that if we didn't go now, I would have run away.

"Alright, alright, let's go," swinging the door open, we walked through the doorway. Scanning the area in front of us, I saw her for the first time.

She was lying on the ground, holding her legs in her arms. She had short brown hair, and wore clothes the like I'd never seen before. They looked very thick for being at an island during the summer. She was the most beautiful person I'd ever seen.

"Wow...she's gorgeous..." I stared, mouth agape, at the strange looking girl."

"Oh, come on, Sora. Two seconds and you're already ogling her." Riku said in a sarcastic tone.

"Hey!" I said, confused and angry, "Just because you're a grade ahead of me, doesn't mean you can go using your fancy vocab on me..."

"Calm down, I was only kidding. You are right though, she is much cuter than Selphie."

"Don't let her hear you say that. Selphie would go ballistic," Selphie was usually nice, but when it came to certain subjects, she had a very short temper.

"Oh well, let's go see if she is all right," Riku motioned for me to follow him as he made his way to where she lay. As we drew closer I was able to see her face. She had a strange hew of purple eyes, and a slightly rounded face.

"Where do you suppose she came from?" I asked Riku as I crouched over her.

"I don't know, maybe she's from another world," Riku teased.

"Hey, I was being ser..." as I finished my statement, the girl started to move. "Hey she's getting up!"

"No duh, genius, you figure that one out all by yourself?" As he said this he smacked me across the back of the head. Not expecting it, I fell over on top of the girl.

"Oww..." rubbing the back of my head, I opened my eyes at the same time as the girl.

"AHH!!!" as the girl opened her eyes; she saw me and freaked out. Rising to her feet quickly, she scooted back until she ran into a coconut tree. Hitting it rather hard, a coconut fell down and hit her on the shoulder. "Oww!"

"Calm down," Riku said, walking over to her. I rose to my feet, but remained where I was, not wishing to frighten her any further.

"Wh...who are you?" she said, still shaking and grasping her arm.

"I'm Riku, and this is Sora," Riku stayed a few feet back, probably trying not to scare her. "You're on Destiny Islands, do you know where that is?"

"Destiny what? Where is that? Where's my grandma? I was just at Holl...AHH!!!" the girl screamed in pain and grabbed her head. "Why does this hurt so much? I...I can't remember anything!"

"Do you still know your name?! Tell us before you forget that to," I hoped that we'd be able to have that at least, so we could find out who her parents were.

"My name is...Kairi..." as she said this, she shut her eyes and started to fall. I ran over to her and caught her. She opened her eyes and looked straight into mine. "I'm scared..." she said, trembling all over.

"Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you," I said, reassuring myself as much as her.

"Thank you," she said, and then passed out.

"Riku, help me out!" I yelled, even though he was right there.

"Ok, let's get her to the doctor back on the mainland," he grabbed her with me, and between the two of us, we managed to get her back to the boats. We decide that Riku would go back first, because he was the fastest rower. I was to take Kairi back, and make sure she stayed safe.

As I was rowing across the small gap back to the mainland, the mysterious girl, Kairi, woke up again. She seemed calmer than the first time, almost as of she didn't recall it at all.

"What's your name?" I jumped; surprised that she had spoken to me.

"Umm...my name's Sora," still startled, I stumbled through my own name. Well, that wasn't the only reason I was nervous. I always had trouble talking to cute girls I didn't know. It never happened with Selphie, because I'd known her since I childhood, but this was different. I had just recently started to notice girls, and Kairi was exceptionally beautiful.

"Sora is it? Thank you," as she was speaking, she stared into my eyes. Her eyes showed a girl that was both trusting and frightened, hopeful that I was the one that was going to help her.

"Thank you for what?" I didn't know what I had done that deserved thanks.

"For catching me," she was talking really calmly for someone who had only minutes ago been freaking out.

"Oh, that, it was nothing," I said blushing. As I said this, she attempted to sit up. She grimaced in pain though, and grabbed her shoulder.

"You shouldn't try to move. Riku went on ahead for the doctor. They should be waiting there when we arrive," she lay back down, and closed her eyes.

"Sora...a cute name for a cute boy..." I blushed wildly when she said this, hiding my face behind my arm. After a few seconds, I heard her breathing become more regulated. She had gone back to sleep.

_I have a feeling this girl is going to lead me on a crazy adventure some day, _I thought to myself as I gently rowed for land


	3. The Crossroads and the Awaiting Test

Note: I do not own any of the Kingdom Hearts Characters (that is all Disney, SquareEnix got a little screwed, but hey, I'm not complaining, it's a great game). This is where my story starts to take on its own meaning. Sora begins his trip down the crossroads.

"So what are we gonna do now, Sora?" Goofy came up beside me, and sat down next to me. Donald was pacing back and forth behind us, muttering something to himself that I couldn't understand. I had been sitting down, staring at the multiple paths that made up the crossroads. It seemed as if hours had gone by while I was sitting there, but for all I knew it had only been a few minutes. The place we were in was nothing but darkness, but the path ahead seemed as if it was illuminating itself.

"I think I know which one I'm gonna take," I said, rising to my feet. "In all the really good fairy tales I heard when I was a kid; the path that always looked the hardest was always the right one to take, so I'm going to take this one." I pointed my finger to a particularly curving path. The way looked very narrow, but something told me it was the road I was going to have to travel.

"That one?!?" Donald nearly jumped in the air when I told them. "Noooooo! I refuse to go that way!" Donald was going into one of his fits. I gave a glance to Goofy and mouthed:

"Wand comes out in 3, 2, 1..." at the exact moment I counted down, Donald pulled out his wand, and pointed it right at me. Immediately following, I pulled out the Key blade and knocked it from his hands.

"Look Donald, we can either sit here arguing about this, end up getting mad at each other, not talking, and you end up following me anyway, or you can just agree with me for once and we can go down that path and see where it goes."

Donald stood, mouth agape, staring in disbelief at what I had just said. I'd certainly gotten angry before, but I had never simply told him it was my way or the highway. Goofy gave a silent chuckle.

"What's so funny?!" Donald screamed, turning towards Goofy. Donald jumped at him, attempting to knock him over, but only managed to bounce off of him before falling to the floor in a small heap. Jumping into the air, Donald let out a scream of frustration, ran over to his wand, and fell down. I couldn't help but think of how boring this trip would be without him. Rising to his feet, Donald brushed himself off, and picked up his wand.

"Fine, we'll go your way, but if we end up in danger, don't blame me."

"Alrighty, it's settled then," Goofy said, pulling out his shield. "Let's see where it leads."

Swallowing hard, I stepped forward towards the path I had chosen. With every step I took, my body seemed to weigh even more.

_Is this the right way? I don't know, but I can't let Donald or Goofy know that. _I was very close now, merely a step or so away. I took in one last breath and moved to start down the long road.

"AHHH!!!" My body felt as though I had been hit with a thundaga attack. Not being able to stand the pain, I fell to my knees and whited out.

My eyes fluttered open. Staying in the position I was, I tried to get a look around, so as to not be caught off guard. The room was all black, with no light to be seen. For some reason though, the floor seemed to be illuminating itself.

_Why does this place seem so familiar? _Something about this place struck me as odd. Had I been here before? Then it hit me.

This was where it had all begun. The first place I had heard the voice. The place where I had chosen the powers of the warrior, and given up the powers of the guardian. This was where I first met the heartless, and where I'd learned of my destiny to open a door I knew nothing of.

_Why am I back here now? It doesn't make any sense. I already chose my path. Why am I back at the beginning? _I was turning over every possible reason as to why I was here again, when the voice answered my question.

"**Sometimes to continue on, you must start again from the beginning. When you started this journey, I told you your journey would begin in the dead of night, but to press on, because dawn will eventually come. Dawn is still far off. To aid you in your quest, you shall be put to a trial. If you can pass it, the answers you seek shall be made clear."**

Rising to my feet, I looked around, trying to find the source of the voice. Ever since that first day, I had wanted to know who it was that was attempting to guide me.

"Show yourself!" I yelled into the eternal dark. "Who are you, and why have you chosen me? What did I show that made you choose me to carry the Key blade?"

"**As I have told you, complete the trial and your questions shall be answered."**

"Present it then! I have waited to long, and fought too hard to be denied now," Growing angry, I attempted to pull out my Key blade, but it would not appear. "What's wrong?" I muttered to myself, "Why won't it appear?" As if responding to my question, the voice spoke again.

"**This trial is a test of your strengths alone. You will not be allowed to use your Key blade. You shall face both physical and mental trials. Begin." **As soon as the voice said this, a large bladed pendulum came swinging down at me.

"Great, this is just how I wanted to spend my day..."


	4. The First Meeting Without a Cocunut Inju...

Note: I do not own any of the Kingdom Hearts Characters, locations, or any thing else for that matter. This chapter is back to the past. Sora and Riku journey to the hospital to see Kairi. She was sent here after they discovered her, and I'll let you find out the rest.

It had been two days since the girl named Kairi had arrived mysteriously on Destiny Islands. The doctor had been watching, owing to the fact that no one seemed to know her parents, and she couldn't remember anything about herself. So far the doctor hadn't let anyone see her, but he was going to make an exception for me and Riku since we had been the ones to find her.

"Do you think she'll remember us?" I questioned Riku as we were walking towards the doctor's office.

"Of course she will, Riku said in a sly tone, "you scared her so bad she'll probably never forget you." I stopped in my tacks, and cast an angry glare at Riku. He stuck out his tongue at me and ran off towards the doctor's, me fast on his heels. With the added incentive, we arrived at the doctor's much faster.

"..._pant_..._pant_...Ok, ok, I get it, your faster than me," I caught my breath, then gave one of my goofy grins to Riku.

"Come on, she's probably waiting for us."

The doctor's office was a small building on the edge of town. It had only 4 rooms total, but not many people got sick or injured. Aside from when I'd been born, I had never been there

"Hello, can I help you?" A nurse at the front desk near the door greeted us as we walked in.

"O, hi. We're here to see Kairi." Riku responded to her right away. He'd been here a lot while his mother was still alive. She had garnered a rare disease, of which the origins were unknown.

"Ah yes, the little girl that you two brought in the other night. She is in room three. Down the hall and first door on the right."

"Thanks," Riku said, then motioned for me to follow as he headed down the hall. I quickly caught up to him and we went into the room together.

She was sitting alone in a chair facing the window. Her arm had been pinned down by a cast over her shoulder, so that it would heal right. She still looked as beautiful as she had those few nights prior. Hearing us come in, she turned, and after giving what looked like a quick glance to me, she smiled really wide and got up from her seat.

"What are you two doing here?" she asked, obviously glad to have someone to talk to.

"We wanted to see how you were doing," Riku said. I simply nodded along with him.

"That's really nice of you guys. I've been bored out of my mind..." she trailed off, garnering a look of disgust on her face.

"H...has the doctor been nice?" I managed to stammer. Riku gave an exasperated sigh, and Kairi giggled.

"Yes, they have, but you know how boring adults are. They never seem to talk about, or do anything fun," she gave another giggle, then went back and sat down in her chair, motioning for us to take a seat in the two opposite her. Riku and I sat down, and the three of us conversed on random things for around a half hour. We filled her in on our pasts-which didn't take to long-and told her about Selphie, Tidus, and Wakka. After a while, I finally worked up enough courage to ask something that had been on my mind.

"Kairi, where are you from?" as soon as I said it, I regretted it. The room grew dead quiet. Kairi's smile became a look of sadness, and Riku cast me an evil glare. Trying to recover from my error, I tried to act like it wasn't a big deal. "O, sorry, you don't have to tell us if you don't want to..."

I grew quiet as well, drifting into the error I had made. How could I have been so stupid? I knew that she couldn't remember anything; she couldn't that first night, so why would she be able to now? After a long drawn out silence, Kairi spoke.

"I honestly haven't a clue, Sora. I wish I did. I wish I could figure it out, fond out if I have parents that care about me, relatives I've lost, or other friends I might have. But I've accepted the fact that I can't remember, and I just want to try to live here in peace. Sorry..." Kairi resumed looking at her legs, and then Riku chimed in.

"Don't worry about it Kairi. We don't care where you're from. We just want you to stay here. We'll find someone around town who will take you in, ok?"

"Ok," Kairi said, perking up a bit.

"Well, Sora, we need to get going. Kairi's new home isn't going to find itself you know." Riku stood up and left the room. I made to follow him, but Kairi stopped me.

"Wait, Sora. I do remember something. I remember a really big castle, but I don't know where it is. When I dream, I try to enter it, but I always wake up before I do."

"Maybe that's how you're trying to remember." I said. "When we first found you, you asked where your grandma was. I don't know if it'll help lots, but I figured you should know."

"My grandma, huh?" she furrowed her brow, obviously trying to remember her. "Thanks, Sora. Goodbye." With this I left the room, leaving Kairi to her thoughts.

Short end note: I don't ussually do these, but i gottaa tell anyone whos reading this the following things. One, sorry the last few chaps have been so short, i promise the next one to be much longer, and ten is really long. Yes i have through ten written, but it may take me a bit to tyope it, so be patient, and keep checking. (hmm...the short end note was longer than regular note...)


	5. Midgar, Shinra, and Airships, Oh my!

**Note:** Well, I've finally reworked this chapter. I originally butchered this part because I hadn't played Final Fantasy 7 for so long. I had weapon attacking and obliterating Midgar, and there were more than a few mix ups between the Juno attack and the Midgar attack. I've gone through, and redone it, and I'm actually happier with this newest incarnation anyway. Well hope you enjoy it, and sorry it took so long to get out.

**Second note:** The first note was the original one for it, but seeing as how it took me so long to finish typing this chapter (not to mention sneak it on) I've decided to add another one. I'm going to rework all of the chapters and get them edited. It'll be the same thing; just I'm going to bring them up to snuff with some of my newer writings, such as my short stories. It shouldn't take long, and I'm not going to take off the story, but I won't post six until I have reworked them all, so once you see that chapter 6 is up, check out some of the old chapters, because they should be redone.

* * *

**_Dedications:_**

**Riku-of-Darkness:** Thanks for reading some of my stuff and commenting. I always look forward to your reviews, because they usually offer good advice. Even if you couldn't remember I was a guy, I still really appreciate everything you have done for me and progressing my writing talents.

**Lvkishugs:** You inspired many of my works, and made me see that stories can be both dark and light. Thanks to you I have progressed tons, and I really hope we can work on a Kairi centric fic some day, since I decided to cancel the one I told you about. I've always loved reading your stories, and they are some of the ones I look forward most to on this site.

**Needles of Seether:** Thanks for all the help you have given me, and I'm sorry I haven't finished up the nest chap to our fic yet (oops…) but I really enjoy time spent with you, and hope that you'll enjoy some of my stuff as much as I enjoy yours.

**Focker919:** I've really enjoyed some of your works, and you are a very talented writer. I appreciate that you would ask me to help out with your C2, and I'm sorry ii haven't posted some more stuff for it. Any who, thanks for your help, and know I'll be willing to help at anytime.

**Orealie:** Sorry I don't know you better, but I just wanted to thank you for following all of my chapters, and being dedicated to reviewing them. Thanks!

Well, now that that is over, on with the show!

* * *

I jumped to the left to avoid the pendulum, rolling to my feet in time to notice another one coming after me. Wishing to analyze my surroundings, I hopped on top of this pendulum, and grasped on for dear life. The black room I had previously been in had become a ceilinged hallway, and the walls were slowly closing themselves in on me. I noticed more pendulums waiting to be released from the walls, and also spotted what appeared to be holes running down the side of the walls, obviously meant to shoot objects out at me. Then I noticed a door at the end of the hall.

"Let me guess, I gotta get there? Great, just great…" jumping off of the pendulum, which had gotten stuck in to the wall, I made a mad dash for the door. Dodging swinging pendulums and arrows being shot at me from the holes in the wall, I was slowly but surely working my way to the door. Just as I thought my goal was in reach, I stepped onto a part of the floor that had multiple holes in it.

"SHIT!" I let out a loud scream, glancing down at the searing pain in my foot. There was now a hole where the middle of my foot had been. Breathing heavily, I collapsed onto the ground, more holes awaiting my arrival. Just before I hit the ground I thought, Come on, I defeated Ansem to be taken down by a few pathetic spikes? Then I hit the floor.

"AHHHH!" I felt long needles protruding from every part of my body. I could still see out of one eye, and the last image I had was that of the blood dripping from the spikes that now held my body levitating in the air.

* * *

The first thing I remember thinking once I started to regain consciousness was, I'm dead, I'm dead… Over and over this one thought played in my head, until my omnipresent voice snapped me from my slumber.

**"You have not perished. Stand up and look at yourself."** Opening my eyes I stood up and scanned my body. There were no marks or scars of any kind. I felt no pain, and I was more refreshed than when I had initially taken my step onto the crossroads.

"How?.." the idea baffled me. Had I not been slain, pierced through by countless spikes? How was I still alive?

**"You are alive because what you experienced was both real and not at the same time. You experienced this through a form of astral projection, but the challenges, pain, and rewards are very real. You may have failed this time, but do not despair. You will be presented with a similar trial at the next crossroads."**

The next crossroads? How many are there, and better yet, where the hell am I? I had finally taken some time to take in my surroundings. I was in a never-ending field. O it appeared to be at the very least. The area was very hilly. I found myself in a valley between two larger hills. Wanting to get a better view, I climbed to the top of the nearest one.

I was overlooking a vast overgrown city. It appeared to be floating in the air, or possibly held up by massive columns. It looked as if it had at one time been a great place of twisted metal and industry. In the end however, it appeared that a greater force overcome and destroyed it.

**"This is the future of your friend Cloud's home world. This future is currently being challenged. Sephiroth has gained access to the heartless, and he has also figured out how to control them. Find Cloud and his companions, and stick with them. Aid them in defeating Sephiroth, or this future shall be changed. Now, witness the true face of this world."**

As the voice said this, the world before me began to change. It seemed as if a plaque was spreading from my body, for starting at where I was standing and spreading out, the land seemed to die. Grass was replaced by dirt, flower by stone, and as I watched, the destroyed city began to reform itself. As I stared at the now living city, I felt a sudden rush in my stomach. Before I knew what was happening, I was somewhere else. I was inside of some random building. As I tried to make sense of what had just happened, the force that had brought me here released me, and I fell from the ceiling, landing on top of someone.

"Ahh!" I heard a woman scream as I fell down. She was dressed in red, and seemed to have an air of haughtiness about her. "Get the vile cretin off of me!"

"Yes, Madam Scarlet," I heard a gruff voice say, and suddenly two men in blue uniforms dragged me off the woman.

"You have picked a poor day for practical jokes," Scarlet said to me. "Looks like we have another conspirator for the public execution," as she said this she let out a very high pitched and irritating laugh, then had the men handcuff me.

"Wait! I didn't even do anything!" I cried out, struggling to get free from the two men in blue.

"Well, you have now, it's called resisting arrest," She let out another stupid laugh. "Besides, it's not like they are going to believe you over me," she motioned for her men to follow her and to bring me along.

We came to a door way in what appeared to be a medical wing of some kind. The guards held me still as a man in a white overcoat came walking out, then shoved me into the doorway.

"Hello Tifa and Barret. Time for your executions," She said this in such a sweet way that It almost made me sick. "I'd say I'm sorry, but I doubt you're in the mood to be lied to, so I won't. Oh, and here is a friend we found for you to accompany you in the executioners room," A large black man and a beautiful girl looked over at me. The man was in a green vest with a white undershirt, and had a gun grafted directly onto his arm. The woman wore a white t-shirt with green shorts and fighting gloves. When he saw me, the man grew really angry.

"I can understand why you want to get rid of us, but what the f did that little kid do?" He grew restless, and it took both guards to subdue him. They pinned him on the ground and placed handcuffs on him as well, then made their way over to the girl.

"He made me mad, and I was already in a bad mood, plus, the more that are condemned for this crime, the safer the people will feel, and the more they'll trust the Shinra," she let out another one of her damn laughs. She was lucky my hands were tied. She motioned for the guards to grab us, and then led us out of the room.

I and my fellow prisoners were led out of the room and down a maze of hallways. We wandered for what seemed like hours, eventually arriving in a room with TV cameras all over.

"Wait a minute, this is going out on live television?" I was confused. No one needed to see this, especially not younger eyes that this would taint. No one should have to watch a merciless slaughter, it does stuff to you. I know first hand.

"Of course," Scarlet said, "A bit graphic yes, but the audience is enjoying it, and the ratings are skyrocketing." She let out another irritating laugh, then led us up onto a podium. "Hello all you viewers. Today we bring you the execution of three people that have been convicted for the crime of awakening Weapon, and summoning Meteor." she went on and on, and I simply tuned her out after a while. I allowed myself to scan over the crowd. There were a bunch of official looking people sitting up front, but there was one person that caught my eye in particular. He was extraordinarily large, probably three to four times as large as a normal man. I wondered how he was even able to move.

"We caught one of these people today, so in order to keep on schedule, I will place two of them in at once," as she said this, the guards came over and grabbed me and the girl. I decided it was best to just go along with it, as I had spied several guards all lurking in the corners of the room. This Shinra as they called themselves was obviously not stupid. I was led into an adjacent room that contained one chair and multiple pipes coming out of the walls.

"Do you like my gas chamber? I designed it myself," The woman said as she stood there gloating over it. "Do you have anything else to say?"

"Self righteous bitch," the woman named Tifa said as she was being strapped into the chair. Scarlet turned red, walked over to Tifa and slapped her. As I watched this, I didn't notice the guard walk up to me until after he had succor-punched me in the gut.

"I hope you two enjoy a slow and painful death," she laughed once more as she walked towards the door. I raised my head from my crouched position, just in time to notice one of the guards drop his key. Scarlet and her two guards left the room, locking the door behind them.

"Ughh…"I lay collapsed on the floor, still groggy from the immense pain. I heard the girl struggling to get out of her restraints, but after a short while she gave up.

"Grr…this is hopeless!" as she said this, gas began pouring in from the vents. "No! I can't die yet! I haven't had a chance to tell him how I feel…" I noticed her looking around the room, and saw her eyes rest on the keys. "Hey kid, can you move?"

"I…I think so," I said groggily, moving to stand up, "And the names not kid, it's Sora."

"Well Sora, I'm Tifa, and unless we do something we're both dead," I heard the emphasis of distress in her voice. "Do you see that key?"

"What, the one the guard dropped?" I asked, finally rising to my feet.

"Yeah, can you get it?" she had begun to struggle to free herself once more, but again she was unsuccessful.

"Yeah, I think so," I walked over to it. I lay down on my back, and tried to grab the keys, seeing as how my hands were still cuffed. As I struggled to get them, a voice came through the doorway.

"Tifa! Tifa! Can you hear me?" a deep voice was coming through.

"Barret! Get us out of here!" Tifa yelled.

"I'm working on it! The damn lock controls aren't in this room. I'm gonna go find 'em. Be careful, that weapon thing is coming here!" Barret pounded his fist on the door a few times, then it grew quiet again. After a few seconds, I heard a loud metal clang.

"Your friend won't be helping you now!" Scarlet screamed in a deranged state. "I locked him out of here, and I'm the only person who can open this door!"

"Got it!" I said sounding triumphant. I had finally managed to grab the keys, hopping up to my feet as I did so.

"Great, now come over here and sit on my lap!" I turned around quickly with a questioning look. "Not like that you little perv! Sit on my lap so I can grab the key with my teeth and we can get out of here!"

I walked over to the chair and sat down on top of Tifa. I held the key so that she could grab the end part with her mouth. I felt the key leave my grasp and hopped off of her. She unlocked her first shackle, and then the second. After she was free she walked over to me and unlocked mine. Once I was free she ran over to the door and tried to push it open.

"It won't budge!" she said after a few seconds. Suddenly a large explosion was heard, followed by a beam of light shooting through the roof of the room we were in. When the smoke had cleared, a large hole was left in the roof. The gas began to pour out of the chamber, and Tifa and I were rewarded with some fresh air.

"What's going on in there?" Scarlet screamed. "Let me in right now!"

"Make up your damn mind!" Tifa yelled back. "First you lock us in here, and now you want me to open the door?" Scarlet began screaming uproariously, and began yelling at one of the guards to unlock the door.

"Come on Tifa, we gotta get out of here!"

"How do you suppose we are gonna do that?" she asked. I pointed at the newly made hole in the roof. "Are you crazy? We got no idea where that leads!"

"Would you rather stay and find out what psycho out there does when she catches us?" I bent down and cradled my hands, making a place for her to step. "Come on, I'll give you a boost."

Tifa gave me a hesitant look, then ran straight at me. She placed one foot in my hands, and then leapt toward the hole. Once I'd seen her get over the gap, I walked back toward the door. I readied myself, and then ran for the hole myself. I jumped up and managed to get a grasp on the edge. I shimmied over the edge, and slid down the domed wall. I landed right next to Tifa, giving her a hopeful look as I did so.

"So where do we go now?" I asked her.

"Why are you asking me? This was your escape plan." She looked over at me, and I at her. I heard the door above us open, and Scarlet come rushing in.

"Where did they go?" she yelled. "You two go outside and check to see if they're there."

I scanned around the edge of thee small platform we now stood on, and saw a spot that looked as if it had grooves.

"Ok, I know this is a long shot, but let's try to climb down over there," I said, pointing towards the area I had seen. She nodded toward me, and we made our way over. I allowed Tifa to go first, then quickly followed her. As we were climbing down I heard a man scream. I looked up in time to notice one of the guards in blue falling to his doom. This was the first time I had looked down, and I noticed that we were over some water. I heard the man land with a large splash, but managed to find the courage to continue on. I wasn't about to die. I still had to get back to Kairi.

At the base of the place we were climbing down, we came to a long cylindrical object. Tifa took off running down it, and I followed behind as closely as I could. I now realized just how fast she actually was. I realized about halfway down that this object was in fact a giant cannon. Shocked by this fact, I looked up towards Tifa. She had stopped running and was looking up at something. I heard a whirring sound, and turned my gaze to where Tifa's was. A helicopter was descending with the woman in red riding on a ladder. When she was close enough, she jumped off, landing in front of Tifa.

"You didn't honestly think I would let you get away now did you?" Once again she realized her painful laugh. I pulled out the Keyblade, and slowly moved into my fighting position.

"Stay out of this Sora, this is my fight." Tifa held up one of her hands in a gesture for me to stay where I was. I hesitantly obliged, and refocused my attention on the helicopter. Tifa then turned to face Scarlet. "Come on you old hag, I ain't getting any younger."

"Hag! You'll pay for that whench!" Tifa drew herself into a defensive fighting stance, obviously expecting a punch or at least a kick, but to both of our surprises, Scarlet slapped her. Tifa rubbed her cheek with painful indignation, before lashing back with a slap of her own. This continued until finally Scarlet fell to her knees. She stood up slowly, and cast Tifa an angry glare. "Don't think this is over, I'll be back." Scarlet grabbed onto the ladder as it was re-lowered from the helicopter. After she had it pulled away, leaving nothing more than a dot on the horizon.

"Bitch…" Tifa muttered, her eyes still transfixed on the dot that was Scarlet. After a few seconds, a large booming voice came from out of nowhere.

"RUN TO THE END OF THE CANNON!" Tifa grabbed onto my arm, and pulled me along as we ran swiftly to the cannon's edge. After a few moments I caught up to her stride, and she released my hand. We ran full on towards the end, when suddenly a gigantic airship rose up to meet us.

"Grab on!" Barret was standing at the edge of a small platform, grasping a rope ladder. He tossed it to us, Tifa grabbing a hold of it, then grabbing my arm. I grasped the ladder, and then we both scaled it to the platform where Barret was.

"So, does the kid got a name?" Barret said, casting me a funny stare. As I stood there the mixture of gas, sudden exertion of physical strength, and the speed at which the airship now moved caught up to me. I began to sway from left to right, but managed to get out one last phrase.

"Yeah…I've got a name…It's Sora…" As I said this I collapsed and blacked out, but not before noticing I was falling next to a very familiar looking raven haired girl.

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**Final note:** Well? I finally got to where this story is going to go, just know there are at least two other places I'm hoping to have Sora visit, possibly three. I think that this chapter is just as long as the rest of the story combined. I hope to continue this trend, and make the story more detailed, so as to reflect the changesI have undergone as a writer. It may take me a bit to get the next chapter out, but by then I will have redone all the other chapters, so it will be like a brand new story. Thanks to all my dedicated readers, and I hope you like where I'm taking it. 


	6. The Sweet Blossom of Young Romances

**Note:** Ok, so it has been a while since I updated, which I guess I truly have no excuse for considering the fact that I have through Chapter ten written out…O well, I absolutely despise typing, so sorry that it will always take so long. You can look forward to chapter 10 if you're hoping for a long chapter, cause the next few are admittedly short. Ok, well, that's enough rambling for now, so let's get on to the…Dedications! HA, you actually thought I would stop babbling on about…Wait…what are you doing with that chainsaw? OK, OK, I'll hurry, just don't hurt me!!!

_**Dedications:**_

_Lvkishugs- _Just needed to get you on here. You not only reviewed last time, but you have helped me out so much lately. I can't waait to actually write something with you (if we can ever figure out what the heck were gonna do...) But thank you so much for your reviews and friendship!

_Orealie-_ An Enigma within yourself. I so wish I could get to know you better, you've been a very faithful reviwee, but I just have not had time to start your story, and I'm sorry. I'll try to find some time to squeeze it in, and thanks agian for your great reviews. O and for actually reading my Zelda fics! I have almsot no reviews there! Thanks so much.

_Sai-Ryo Aura Feana-_Agian, same as Orealie, thanks for your reviews, and I'm sorry I don't know you better. I hope you'll continue to follow up on this story, and sorry it is taking so long to get out!

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Two years…

It had been two full years since Kairi had come to our little island town. She had been living with a family in town who had adopted her, never being able to conceive a child of their own. She seemed to get along just fine with her adoptive mother, and aside from a few heated arguments here and there, her relationship with her adoptive father didn't seem so bad either.

Tonight was the anniversary of when Kairi had first came here, and we were all planning to throw her a big party. Selphie was in charge of decorating, Tidus and Wakka had gotten their parents to bring the food, Riku had found us a good location, and I was given the task of distracting Kairi until it was all finished.

We had gone out to the children's island, and to keep her there longer I had cleverly taken her oars and hidden them up near the Paopu tree. She had no clue though, as she was hurrying to the secret place.

As we walked in, I heard the usual sound of the wind rushing through the oddly shaped whole in the roof. I giggled quietly to myself as I recalled the first time me and Riku had discovered this place. We had thought that there was a monster in here, and were hoping to fight it and have ourselves a grand adventure like the people in the stories that the old people told. Once inside, we discovered nothing of the kind, and Riku had left immediately, disappointed in the find. I had logged the place in my memory though, and brought Kairi here after we got to know each other better.

We had gone there on quite a few occasions, drawing random things, and talking about anything we could think about. We'd been trying to piece together things about Kairi's past, but she could never remember anything more than the castle walls, or anything about the grandmother she had called for the night she had first arrived.

I told her as much as I could about my past, but in truth there wasn't that much to tell. Aside from the occasional prank that me and Riku pulled that actually went off without a hitch, or the stories of trying to become as good of Blitzball players as Tidus's dad Jecht, there wasn't very much to say. I told her about my parents, what they were like, how much my dad got on my nerves from time to time, my mom getting overly curious about things, and anything I could think off. I didn't know anything about my grandparents, owing to the fact that my parents had moved here after they got married, and this was the only life I had ever known.

Usually we would spend time talking about things that happened around town, or playing cards, but today was different. I could tell something was bothering Kairi, but she hadn't said a word all day. She was good at hiding things, but I was even better at finding them.

"Kairi, is something wrong?"

"Huh? Oh, N…no, nothing is wrong!" As she said this she threw on a smile so fake that anyone could have been able to tell she was lying.

"You know you're a horrible liar." I said, tossing her an accusing stare from my spot near the entrance of the cave.

"I know," She said, resuming the gloomy persona she had displayed moments before. "I just didn't want to worry you…"

"What is there to worry about? Did something happen? Did someone hurt you, cause if they did—"

"No, nothing like that. It's just…" she trailed off again as she turned to face the other end of the cave.

"It's_ just_?" I placed a lot of emphasis on the word just, hoping to get an answer out of her. Kairi may have been one of my best friends, but I often had to force answers out of her.

"It's just…I remembered something else last night…" she said. It seemed as if just saying those words was draining her of all of her energy.

"Do you want to tell me about it? Or would you rather wait awhile until you've had some more time to think about it?" Kairi spun around towards me, dumbfounded that I wasn't going to force an answer out of her for once. The look she gave me was that of surprise and happiness, with a little bit of confusion thrown in there for good measure.

"…If you don't mind, I'd rather wait awhile."

"Sure, so long as you promise to tell me once you figure it out."

"Ok!" Kairi said, perking up for real this time.

"Well, we need to get heading back," I said, not truly wanting to go. "Riku will be waiting for us. You know how mad he gets when we are late for dinner."

"Yeah…" Kairi looked at the ground, and then at me. "Thanks, Sora." Once she said this she slowly walked up to me and gently kissed the side of my cheek. She stepped back and blushed, then rushed out of the secret place.

I stood there transfixed for what seemed hours, merely living in that one moment. I almost refused to believe what had just happened. Of all people, she had kissed me! After a while, I heard her yelling about where her oars were, then, finally moving, I walked out of the secret place, towards the one I knew now I cared about over all.

* * *

**Second note:** Well, sorry if it's not up to my newer standards, but it is an older writing, and I think it kind of shows. I did what I could to revamp it, but I didn't want to mess with the original storyline, as I really like it. Hope that you liked this chapter…and I'll try to force myself to type the next one up soon! Also, sorry for the shortness of this chapter, but I got across the point I wanted right away, so I felt no need to lengthen it. Longer chapters are coming, I promise! 


	7. One Crazy Ride

**Note: **Thank God! I finally got this chapter typed up! Amazing as it sounds, it is true, and I am sorry it took so long, especially considering how long I've had this written up. You would not even recogonize the story if you read the written version though, I tried to bring it up to speed with my current writing talents. Well, I hope you enjoy this, and sorry I don't have any dedications this timer around, I just wanted to get this out quickly.

* * *

I finally started stirring. I had no idea how long I had been out, or any clue as to where I was now. I still felt a little groggy, but I was at least able to move again. Wherever I was though, it was a lot more comfortable then anywhere I had rested in the past year or so. It almost felt like I was in my nice warm bed, back on the islands. _Maybe that's where I am. Maybe this whole thing has just been a dream, and when I wake up mom will have pancakes ready for me downstairs. _

I opened my eyes to the not my bedroom, but a white metallic room. _Damn…Why couldn't I be right for once? _My surroundings didn't seem familiar at all, and for a brief moment, I thought that maybe I had gotten captured by those Shinra guys again. Then I spotted a familiar looking Raven haired girl sitting at the end of my bed.

"Hey guys, I think he's coming to!" The voice was familiar, but for a split second I forgot her name, but then it hit my lack a jab to the face.

_Of course…How could I forget? _As her eyes met mine she threw out her chest and started to announce who she was.

"Hi, I'm—"

"The great ninja Yuffie. I know…do you have to do that every time we meet?" I gave an exasperated sigh and sat up slowly in bed.

"Wait, how do you know my name, and what do you mean every time we meet? I've never seen you before in my life." Yuffie gave me a strange look, hopping off the bed, and placing her hand over her star that was hanging at her side.

"What do you mean you've never met me? It's me, Sora. You Leon and Aeris all helped me out when I was in Traverse Town and Hollow Bastion. Speaking of which, what are you doing here?"

"Look…Sora, or whatever your name is, I don't know who you think you are, but I've never even heard of this Leon guy, and Aerith is dead." She snapped open the case holding her star to her waist, and I quickly pulled out my keyblade. I blocked her stars as she hurled one after another at me.

"Yuffie!"

_Klank! thwack! shink!_

"Stop…It!"

_Thud! Whack! Klank!_

After a minute or so, a gigantic red lion…tiger…thingy came running into the room.

"Yuffie, Stop!" The…umm… (yeah…I'll get back to you on what it was later) had a loud commanding voice…wait a second…it could talk?

"Why, Red? He's a spy or something. He knew my name, as well as Aerith's before I even told him." She pleaded her case, sounding like a child trying to work her way out of a punishment. Definitely the Yuffie I remembered.

"Did it ever occur to you he might know because of something besides that fact that he is a spy? He's from the future you moron!"

"The future!" both Yuffie and I screamed in unison.

"Yes the future, my grandfather mentioned to me this was going to happen before we left Cosmo Canyon that first time. Now if you would both sit down, I'll explain things." Red, as Yuffie had called him, shut the door and locked it. _That's one really smart cat thingy…_

"First off, Sora," Red said turning towards me, "You cannot tell anyone else that you are from the future, the fact that Yuffie found out is going to screw your future up as it is. Plus, you cannot let them think you knew Yuffie from before just now."

"Tell them! I didn't even know it myself!" I said, still shocked at the unusual turn of events. How the hell did I wind up in the past? It didn't make any sense! Was that overgrown city actually the true face of this world, and not vice versa? My brain was starting to hurt trying to figure this all out.

"Next, Yuffie, he does know your future self. So if he does accidentally say something, you're gonna have to go along with it so as not to screw the timeline up any worse than it already is."

"Humph…not like it's my fault if future boy screws up, so why do I have to cover for him?"

"As I said, so you don't screw the future up even worse. You're gonna have to think of someone besides yourself this time around Yuffie. The future is already screwed up enough for Sora, tonight is gonna be very hard for him."

"What do you mean, Red?" I questioned, puzzled as to why tonight would be weird aside from the fact that I thought I was going insane sitting here talking to a giant cat.

"Because tonight you are going to get all new memories. It'll most likely simply erase all of your old ones and you won't be able to tell the difference, but there are a select few people who have retained their old memories along with their new ones, otherwise we wouldn't even know anything had happened now would we?"

"Why is it tonight, why don't my memories simply rewrite themselves right now?"

"Because they rewrite at night during your dreams in order to keep your head from exploding, and I don't know about you, but I'd rather not have gray matter all over the carpet in here."

"So my memories are gonna change? Why won't I keep all of the old ones as well?"

"I really don't have an answer for you Sora. All I now is that that is the way things are, so you'd better get used to it. Well, I had best get going, I'm supposed to be on guard duty right now, and Vincent is covering for me. You know how he get's when people keep him waiting. Don't forget to take Sora down to tell Tifa that he is up, ok Yuffie?"

"Yeah, Yeah, I'll get right on that," Yuffie rolled her eyes as Red exited the room. "He sure is a cheery guy huh?"

"Yeah, he reminds me a lot of someone I know." I said, picturing Leon in my mind. They seemed to talk almost exactly alike, putting out a tough persona for some unknown reason. I chuckled a bit at the thought of Leon being compared to a lionish thing.

"What's so funny?" Yuffie said, interrupting my thoughts.

"Oh, nothing. Anyway, where am I?"

"Well at the moment we're on the Highwind, the latest in technology used by the Shinra that we stole right from out under there noses. It's my first time on an airship…" she seemed to get a slightly queasy look on her face as she told me about it.

"Oh yeah, I remember you saying something about one, you said that they were really fast but that you always got airsick!" I cracked one of my famous half smiles at her as she stared at me in shock.

"Hey, no one is supposed to know that!" Yuffie said, turning slightly pink. "You can't tell anyone, ok?"

"Fine, fine, but they'll all find out sooner or later."

"Yeah, but we'll just let them find out on there own."

"Ok, sure." I said, a slight chuckle escaping my lips. So anyway, what was that city we were just at?"

"That was Junon, a port military made by the Shinra. Tifa and Barret got sent there after Cloud—"

"Wait, did you just say Cloud? As in Cloud Strife?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I was supposed to find him, but I kinda forgot about it in all of the things that happened at the Junon place. Where is he?" After I said this, Yuffie turned her face away, a somber look crossing her features. "What's wrong?"

"We don't really know where he is right now. We were at a gigantic crater chasing down Sephiroth when Hojo, this weird mad scientist, told Cloud that he was actually nothing more than a clone of Sephiroth. Cloud went crazy, and started begging Hojo to tell him what his number was. Then Weapon woke up, and we haven't seen or heard from him since."

"Wait, back up a sec. Cloud is a clone of Sephiroth? I've fought them both though, and they both fight completely different. I thought they hated each other?"

"Wait, now you hold on. If you're from the future, then how did you fight Sephiroth?"

"It was at a place called the Olympus Coliseum. I was running through some exhibition matches when the person in charge, Phil, told me about this unknown challenger. It turned out to be a man named Sephiroth with a humongous sword twice as long as my body. He wore all black and had his silver hair back in a pony tail. He was insanely fast and powerful. He was able to shoot meteors at me and did this strange move that seemed to nearly kill me. I was lucky I survived that fight."

"How do you know it was the same guy?"

"Cause you Leon and Aerith were all watching me, and you and Aerith said it was him. You guys didn't tell me how you knew him, but I guess I can understand why."

"Were you able to beat him?" Yuffie asked me, wide-eyed.

"Yep, all by myself in fact. He was an incredibly tough opponent, and I've actually wanted to face him again. I wasn't able to kill him. He vanished before that could happen, though truthfully I wasn't to upset. It just meant one more strong rival out there for me to defeat."

"You're lying. No one can beat Sephiroth by themselves…there's just no way…" Yuffie stared at the ground, the thought turning itself over and over in here head.

"That's exactly what you said after I beat him. You were staring at me in disbelief, refusing to accept it." I sat there with a huge toothy grin on my face. Yuffie looked back up at me and smiled.

"You must be pretty strong then." She said, here voice dripping with sarcasm. "Don't tell me that key thingy you were using is your weapon."

"What, the Key blade? Of course it's my weapon; it is after all based around the strength of a person's heart. It can change shape too, so I can always have it ready for any type of situation."

"How do you do that?" she asked, eying my weapon curiously.

"It's simple really; all I have to do is change the keychain on the end out for a different one. Watch." I reached towards the back of my belt where all my different key chains were hanging, and grabbed the first one my fingers brushed up against. "This one is called Pumpkinhead." I said, replacing the mouse shaped keychain on the end with the one I had obtained from Jack Skellington. The blade grew in size, turning black as it did so. The square handle rounded as the ends started growing to a point, sticking out and giving it a much more menacing look.

"Wow!" Yuffie said, as she watched the blade transform. "You really weren't joking! I thought you were just trying to bluff me!"

"Yeah, this is actually one of my favorite blades. It isn't the most powerful, but it has an incredible reach, and it looks really cool."

"Yeah, no kidding…" Yuffie said as she marveled over the blade. "Could you show me another one?"

"Ok, ok." I said, grabbing for another one. I pulled it out to see which one I had latched onto, stopping from moving once I saw which one it was. _Oathkeeper…_ It was Kairi's lucky charm that she had given me just before I had gone back to Hollow Bastion for the second time. It was powerful, not as strong as Oblivion or Ultima, but it held a special place in my heart. Kairi had entrusted it to me, and I had promised that I would return it to her once all of this was done.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Yuffie questioned, knocking me out of my daze. "Is that one broken or something?"

"No… It's just special to me; a very good friend gave it to me." I said, a sigh coming out of my mouth. "Is it ok if we do this later?"

"Um…ok?..." Yuffie said, obviously confused. "I needed to let Tifa know you were up any way.

"Good idea, I really want to see the rest of this Airship."

"Let's get going then." We both stood up, and I replaced the keychain on my belt.

As we walked out of the room, I saw for the first time just how massive the Highwind was. Across from me was a walkway that led to another room, and stairs on my left led somewhere else. How something so big was able to even lift off the ground mystified me. I'd seen jumbo jets before, but this thing was easily three times the size of any of those. The gummi ship I'd been using, the Excalibur, wasn't even any larger than the room I had just been staying in. Yuffie led me over to the walkway and into the room that it connected to.

The room was massive with machinery of all sorts everywhere. If this was the past, then they were really advanced. Maybe that's why the city had been destroyed…

There were a few people in blue uniforms running around, but it was the people that were standing around a table that caught my eye.

The man that Tifa had called Barret was standing next to a thin cloaked man. Red was standing next to who appeared to be Cid, but I wasn't sure, he looked a lot younger than the Cid I knew. Tifa stood at the head of the table, talking to all of them as if she was leading a squadron of troops.

"So you finally decided to get up huh kid?" definitely the Cid I knew. He sounded exactly the same, accent and all, and now that I got a good look at him, he did look like a younger version of the man I knew as well. He was the first one to notice me, and the rest of them all turned around once Cid had pointed out the fact I had finally arrived.

"Yep I brought him down as soon as he woke up. He said his name is Sora." She said, then grabbed ahold of my arm. "Com'on, I'll introduce you to everyone."

Arriving in front of Barret, Yuffie proceeded to formally introduce us. "This is Barret." The large man with the gun arm rolled his eyes at the ever cheerful Yuffie. "He's really just a big softie, don't let him fool you." Yuffie whispered to me. It was all I could do to stifle a giggle.

"The Pale dude in the cape is Vincent." The man gave a slight bow and then turned back to the table, studying the things that they had been discussing.

"Not very sociable huh?" I whispered over to Yuffie.

"Yeah, but you get used to it." She whispered back, adding a slight chuckle to her statement. "Moving along, this is Red, whom you've already met." Red stuck out his paw and I shook it, returning the head nod he gave me.

"The Tobacco smoker over there is Cid." Yuffie said, a hint of disgust in her voice.

"Hey Kiddo!" Cid said, walking up beside me and ruffling up my hair. "Don't you go a'listenin' to Yuffie now, I'm a kind one at heart." He meandered back over to the table, taking a long puff off of his pipe.

"…Anyway, The last one here is Tifa, who you've also already met."

"Nice to see you again Sora." Tifa said, extending her hand out as she walked over to me. I gladly took it and shook her hand. As I was shaking Tifa's hand another large one fell onto my shoulder. It was white, and had no fingers.

"Don't Tell me Yuffie forgot about me again!" The thing said.

"Oh, sorry, Sora this is Cait Sith." I turned around and looked right into the eyes of a giant monster. It had beady black eyes and enormous fangs, but no distinguishable features aside from that.

"MONSTER!" I yelled, pulling the Keyblade out. As I started my swing, I heard a small explosion, then something small, metal, and moving very fast, collided with my weapon, sending it spiraling out of my hand. As the blade went spinning across the room, it slowly evaporated from view. I had trained so that the Keyblade would only manifest so long as I held it in my hand. I had learned my lesson when Riku had stolen it from me at Hollow Bastion. I looked for the cause of the object, and saw Vincent pointing an old fashioned gun at the place where my Keyblade had been only moments before.

"Cait Sith is not an enemy." He said, then turned around once more and placed his gun in its holster. Looking towards the monster again, I noticed that there was a cat sitting on top of it.

"Sorry, terribly rude of myself to frighten you like that. You have pretty fast reflexes my little friend." The cat on top, which I was assuming was Cait Sith, was talking to me. Talking Tigers, cats that used monsters for transportation, and a past that was technologically advanced to my own future. This was going to be one crazy ride…

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**Second Note:** Yeah, I'm definitly going to need to edit this sometime soon, but I wanted to get it out since it has been so long. Sorry again!


	8. The Promise That Altered History

**Note:** Well, sorry for the prolonged wait, and the shortness of this chapter. I'm actually sneaking this on, so don't let anyone know! I'm not supposed to be on this comp, soooo...well you get the idea. Long story short, few probs with it, but I knew it'd be safe to load this really fast. Hope you enjoy it! Oh, and don't think I've been doing nothing. Once I can again, I plan to put up two more chapters of this, another short story, andhopefully update twin mirros!

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Life had continued as usual for the past three years. Rikku, Kairi, and I attended school, went home, did our homework, then met up somewhere every day. The exact same routine for the last three years. I could have cared less, because even though I would never say it to her, spending time with Kairi was all I ever really wanted to do, but Rikku was an entirely different story. I noticed he was starting to get restless, but I never said anything until one day after school we went to the children's island, and I could tell something was really bothering him.

"Rikku, what's wrong?" I about fell over as Kairi said exactly what I was thinking as soon as I opened my mouth.

"Nothing…nothing's wrong…" He kept his eyes focused down towards the sand as we walked along the beach toward the back of the island.

"Yeah right." I said, finally rejoining the conversation. "You know me and Kai know you better than that. What's wrong?" He threw a helpless glance towards us then sighed, shrugged, and started in with his tale.

"I'm just sick of this place, that's all. I'm tired of doing the exact same thing day in and day out. I want something new, anything new, to happen, before I go out of my mind. This place is like a prison."

"Well…why haven't you left yet?" Kairi said, casting him an inquisitive look. Rikku almost looked taken aback, as though he hadn't expected her to say that.

"Because of you guys. I'm not just going to leave you here. I couldn't do that. You two are really the only thing keeping me here. It's not like I'm staying for dad or anything."

"Why is that keeping you here?" I said, placing my hands behind my head, fingers locked.

"Why wouldn't it? You two are all I have in this God forsaken place."

"Well, did you even think to ask us if we wanted to go with you?" Kairi caught us both off guard with this statement. I thought she had been happy around here. Now all of the sudden she wanted to go too?

"Cause you two seemed to be happy here, and I wasn't gonna make you leave just for me."

"Hey, what else are friends for?" I said. "But if we're gonna do this, we need a plan."

"What do you have in mind?" Rikku said, casting me a quick glance.

"I don't know…maybe we could build a raft or something and get out of here that way."

"That's a great idea Sora!" Kairi said, jumping up and down as she turned towards me. "It'll give us something to do over the summer, and then we won't have to go to school next year. We can go off and have a huge adventure! We can all go together!"

"You know what? That isn't a half bad idea. I really need a change of scenery, and this might just be the way to do it." Rikku said, his hand cupping his chin as though he was deep in thought. "We can build one and then get out of here at last. To sea we go!" Rikku said, thrusting his hand in between the three of us.

"To sea!" me and Kairi said, placing our hands on top of his.

"We can start gathering some tools over this last week of school," Rikku went on, "and then we can go out and look for some materials and start building it hopefully by half way through summer."

"We should keep it a secret though," I piped in. "If our parents find out, they might try and stop us."

"Good idea, Sora. Well, I've got to head home. Dad wanted me home early for dinner. Something about needing to talk to me about that detention I got." It was a surprise that Rikku was actually listening to his dad. They never had been on good terms since Rikku's mom had died. It was like they had both blamed each other for her sickness.

"See ya Rikku!" Kairi yelled out as he made his way to the pier. I waved to him; he returned the gesture before he hopped into his boat and started to paddle to the mainland. Once Rikku was out of sight, Kairi turned to me.

"Do you think it'll work?"

"Who knows?" I said, shrugging my shoulders. "If it does it does, if not then it won't." I didn't show it, but I was starting to get excited about the whole idea of going of on an adventure with both Kairi and Rikku. I'd thought of going off to distant lands before, but I'd always dismissed it as childhood fantasy. Now we were going to actually try it.

"Yeah, maybe we'll actually learn something about my past…" Kairi said, her eyes dropping to the sand.

"Is that why you were so excited about going out on this little expedition of ours?"

"Yeah…" she said, raising her eyes up to meet mine.

"Well, maybe we will, but maybe we won't. No matter what happens though your still you. Even if you find out something you don't like, your still the person you are now."

"Yeah!" Kairi said, perking back up when I said this. "Do you wanna go for a walk around the island?"

"Sure," I said, trying to hide the fact I was really eager to go. Kairi still noticed though, and gave a slight giggle. She jogged ahead a bit, and I came alongside her. We both slowed down as we reached a part of the island that was out of view of the mainland. After this, we walked along for a bit before Kairi finally spoke up.

"Sora, do you remember when I told you that I'd figured something else out about my past?"

"Umm, I don't think so…wait a sec…yes I do! That night we celebrated your second year being here right? That was three years ago though, so I don't remember all that well." I didn't want her to know that I still remembered that night perfectly because that was the night she'd given me a kiss.

"Well, I think I might finally be ready to tell you. I've been having the same dream lately, and I had a sudden urge to tell you."

"Really? Why all the sudden?"

"I'm not sure, but something inside of me made me want to tell you." She'd returned to staring at her feet as we walked along.

"Well?"

"What I remember in my dream is a scientist. Something about him is very warm and inviting. That is how the dream starts anyway. Then his clothes become black and red, and he loses all of his warmth. I keep hearing him say something about the power of darkness, but I can't make out anything else he is saying. Something about him really scares me though." She stopped walking and stared into my eyes, pleading with me to understand.

"How do you think it affects your past?"

"I'm not so sure it affects my past, but our future. I think that's why I had to tell you. I'm certain he is in my past, but something tells me he's coming back."

"What, to Destiny Islands?" I didn't entirely comprehend everything she was saying, but I could tell it was all important.

"I'm not sure, but it feels as though he's close, like he's looking for something. I don't think him coming would be a good thing." She was staring at the ground again as she spoke.

"I don't think you should worry. Even if he does come back and something bad happens, I'll protect you."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"Thank you, Sora." As she spoke I noticed tears starting to form on the edges of Kairi's eyes.

"What's wrong?" I was confused, just a few seconds before she'd seemed fine. Had I done something wrong? Before I had a chance to think about it more, she had collapsed into my arms. I wrapped them around her, almost on instinct.

"Do you promise?" she asked me again.

"Yes. I won't let anything happen to you, and if I ever lose you, I'll come find you." I knew I wasn't lying, because that answer was etched on my heart. I'd never forgive myself if something happened to Kairi.

"Don't let me go…" Kairi spoke very softly now, he voice barely audible.

"I'd never let go. I'll always be here for you Kai." Kairi settled even deeper into my arms, and cried for what seemed hours. I didn't care. Being there with Kairi was all I'd ever really wanted anyway.


End file.
